The Platinum is the first in the Cellar Reserve line to use Nicaraguan tobacco, with the binder and filler using tobaccos that the company says have been aged up to 12 years and hail from the country’s Condega, Estelí and Jalapa regions, while the wrapper is an oscuro leaf that comes from Ecuador. The cigar is being produced at American Caribbean Tobacco S.A. in Estelí, Nicaragua.

“When developing the new Cellar Reserve Platinum, our idea was to provide a rich and complex smoking experience for the consumer,” said Juan Lopez, national sales director and in-house blender via a press release. “Due to the enormous success we’ve had with the Cellar Reserve lines made in the Dominican Republic, we felt that it only makes sense to expand the flavor profile by adding aged Nicaraguan tobaccos.”

The Gurkha Cellar Reserve Platinum is being released in three sizes, Hedonism (6 x 58), Kraken (6 x 60) and Solara (5 x 58), with single cigars priced between $7.99 and $9.99. Each is presented in 20-count boxes.

Gurkha’s Cellar Reserve line debuted in 2007 as a Dominican puro. In 2012, the Cellar Reserve Limitada was released with a Brazilian Arapirace maduro wrapper, and in 2014 the Cellar Reserve Edicion Especial introduced a corojo wrapper and filler tobacco that had been aging for 18 years.

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. I previously covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.